Beer: Reviews & Ratings

Appears a ruby brown mahogany tone with a large light cream head leaves specks of uneven lacing not too impressive but the head has decent retention overall looks like a nice brown. Aromatics a bit like cider with tart fruit notes coming through the moderately roasted malt additions that also bring mild chocolate and a woody tree bark barrage mild herbal hop additions noted mild and tame for sure. Flavors really clash the acidity of the tart character overrides the roasted malt and mild sweetness it should offer Im never big on this style but I think this ones poorly made. Pretty astringent yet it seems it hasnt turned its just how the flavors came together after production, which is weird. Mouthfeel is medium bodied really coats the palate and it sticks around sadly I might have to go brush my teeth but the carbonation was moderate and flowed well just the lactic character that sticks to your palate ruins it. Drinkability not so much as Borat would say Im going to stick other beers from this style when reaching for a brown ale pass on Pigs Ear from New Hampshire. (1,092 characters)

poured into a nonic glass from a long neck brown bottle with a twist-off cap.

Very nutty aroma with some carmel and chocolate also some notes of dark fruit. A good,clean aroma that's a bit on the faint side.

Bittersweet,tart tastes,the maltiness in the nose seemed to disappear in the taste. Fruity tastes,sour with a very slight burnt carmell taste. No doubt made in the english style, just lacking in the taste department.

A light mouthfeel,grainy texture,slightly watery. Goes down easy had a bit too much roughness to be real drinkable the sourness was also a bit much. (582 characters)

Received from barleywinebrewer in the Little Guy BIF. Two of the beers he shipped spoiled in my garage while I was in Hong Kong (shame on me for not storing them properly), so I was glad to discover that this one (the last bottle) was still okay.

Taste: Tangy, with some roast and caramel. Excessively tart, actually. If I hadn't had the recent experience of trying two beers that had *really* gone bad, I might wonder if this one had too. Finishes on a dry, cocoa powder note.

Pours a mild brown color with a thin head. Aroma is kind of malty and chewy. Taste is similar except that it's slightly thin on the tongue. It has a dry mouthfeel and the malt shines through somewhat. Not impressive enough for me but it's still solid. (251 characters)

Smell is tangy and earthy, some brown sugar. Pours to a deep metallic brown with a tan macrobubble head. Head holds up for a bit. Mouthfeel is highly carbonated and makes me pucker a little on the finish. Taste is more bitter than sweet, bitterness is even and balances a malty background. Strange finish, starts to finish bitter but then has a tangy almost zesty sweet and sourness. Light for its style, the strange finish makes it a refreshing thirst quencher. Different and unique. (484 characters)

The last beer in my four beer brown ale tasting.
This one pours a woody sort of brownish color, like the color of a cartoon tree. Not as dark as the other three brown ales. Light misting of head, with good lacing around the edges. I'd prefer a beer that gives a little more head, but as long as it puts out.....flavor, right?
Aroma is lightly roasty and very estery, in comparison to the other three browns. Tons of fruitiness, mostly in the form of apple and a bit of plum. It smells good, but I'm not sure brown ale should be this fruity. It kind of bridges the gap between brown and pale ale, in color and aroma.
Flavor is definitely heavy on the pale malt and esters. After three brown ales, this tasted like a pale ale. It's good in it's own right, but I'm not sure how closely it adheres to the brown ale style. Lots of fruitiness, with just a touch of roasted and/or caramunich malt. Body is slightly fuller than average, with a really nice small bubbled mouthfeel. I liked this beer quite a bit, but not as a brown ale. (1,030 characters)

Of all the beers I sampled at the Woodstock Inn Brewery, this one was the best. The problem was, none of their beers really impressed me. It had the fine medium red color going for it. But from the first sip, I noticed it was lacking any noticeable hop taste and aroma. It seemed somewhat watered-down for my taste. The malts were sweet and flavorful, which kept me interested. I declined the bartender's offer to pour me a pint. After sampling everything they had, I was ready for a better tasting cold beer sitting back in the room. (534 characters)

A- Dark brown/ruby in the light with a small quickly fading off white head.

S- A light toastiness and caramel with a hint of light beer like aroma which seems out of place.

T- Light. Hints of toastiness but not much else. Nothing bad, but I'm stretching to taste much. For a beer as dark as this I would have expected more chocolate or coffee notes, but none are found here.

M- Feels just right for the style, medium-high in body with moderate carbonation.

D- Nothing too bad but nothing too exciting. Could certainly have a few more but with better beers in this world why bother. (585 characters)

Clear, dark brown with a large, frothy beige head. Looks like a mug of root beer. Great retention and lace.

Smells of light crystal and Nestle Quick powder with a nutty influence. Couldn't smell too much actually because the ski lodge I'm staying at reeks of puke so we lit nag champa incense all over the house so everything smells like Umass Amherst.

Pours a clear, deep brown-amber with a small head that recedes to nothingness.

Nose is caramel malts and dark, sweet bread.

Intro on the palate is tart with carbonation that backs off to reveal a mild roasted malt bitterness and eventually a slight dark bread flavor with a caramel backbone. Finish leaves a mild, lingering bitterness.

A: Clear brown hue with ruby highlights. Pours with a thick white head with good retention.

S: Sweet malt aroma with caramel/nutty character. Would be a lot nicer if overpowering diacetyl aroma got out of the way.

T: Well rounded caramel malt flavor. Again, diacetyl is quite prominent. Finish is wet and sweet. Only a lingering and just noticeable hop character and bitterness. Just a trace of roasted malted flavor.

MF: Medium light body. medium low carbonation. Pretty watery.

D: A nice average sessionable beer with too much diacetyl character. (620 characters)

Some nutty malts in the taste that have a nice bouncy hop. With warmth, it more resembles a dry brown than it previously did. The yeast sort of kicks in about halfway through. It's somewhat musty, even for a brown.

The feel is dry but smooth. Overall it's just a little to musty for my liking. Not bad, just not one I'd go out of my way to get another one of. (609 characters)

S: I really dig the smell! Ripe coffee, dark chocolate and a faint sweetness to back it up. Well done!

T: The smell could lead you me to believe that I was about to suck down a fat porter.... let us remember that this is still a brown ale. The big sweetness hinted by the nose isn't nearly as pronounced, but coffee and roasted malts hang up front and are balanced well with a little hop bitterness that cleanses the palate nicely.

M: I feel that the nose of this beer made we lust for a bigger body... but even within the style I think it could be a bit sturdier. The carbonation is appropriate for the style.

D: While ho-hum except for the kick-ass nose, this beer sits well with me and I could dig on a few between bigger beers. If I run into it again I will not be displeased. (834 characters)

A: Dark brown, some ruby present. One inch of off-white, tan-ish foam. It is a nice looking beer, and is certainly on the darker end of the English Brown Ale spectrum.

S: Sweet malts, some earthy hops. Not much going on here, but it is in keeping with the style.

T: It opens up with a definite malty sweetness, and perhaps a taste of watered-down molasses mid-palate. The finish is slightly dry and bitter, a bit more so than this style typically employs, but nothing over the top.

M: Watery. Far too watery, even for this style.

D: EBAs have been, and always will be, session beers. This one is no exception. (639 characters)

Served in a standard pint glass. Poured a translucent amber-brown in color with red highlights when backlit. Quarter-inch off-white head dissipated almost immediately into a spotty skim of foam; very little lacing. Scent of malt and something else. Flavors of malt, nuts and butter(yes butter), followed by a touch of hops at the finish. Nicely effervescent mouthfeel that left a clean, slightly tart presence at the end. Not a bad brew, but somewhat lacking. Buttery flavor was interesting, but made it a little less appealing for me as a session brew. (582 characters)